Title: I Came From the Water: One Haitian Boy’s Incredible Tale of Survival
Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Genre: Children’s
Rating: 5 out of 5 fairies
Synopsis: The story is based on the actual experiences of Moses, an eight-year-old boy, and resident of St. Helene’s orphanage outside Port-au-Prince. As an infant, he was literally plucked from the waters of a nearby river, having been placed in a basket by whom we believe was his grandmother. The rest of his family perished in floods that wiped out their upland village in 2004. He was given his name by the nuns at St. Helene’s. The title is Moses’ reply to the author when she asked where he is from.
After the earthquake of 2010 destroyed Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area, the orphanage was flooded with a new wave of parentless boys and girls. Moses helped these children adapt to their new lives and in so doing displays a fearless hope and determination that may lead to Haiti’s renewal as a self-supporting nation.
St. Helene’s orphanage is run by Father Rick Frechette is known globally for his dedication to improving the lives of poor children across Latin America.
Net profits from I Came From the Water will go to support St. Helene’s and Father Rick’s efforts to help rebuild Haiti by offering a safe place to live and a free education for children like Moses.
Review: This book was both adorable and endearing. I loved the story behind the name, and how, despite the circumstances and misfortunes he’s lived through, Moses only wants to help others and stays optimistic. The origin of his name is wonderful, and it makes a great story.
Where to buy: Amazon
About the Author: Vanita Oelschlager is a wife, mother, grandmother, former teacher, current caregiver and, for almost ten years, author and poet.
She was born and raised near Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where she currently serves as a Trustee.
She has also supported and helped Jim as he built Oak Associates, Ltd. into a successful investment management firm.
Today, as an accomplished author, Vanita shares openly the experiences that she, Jim and their families have had with multiple sclerosis. She has likened MS to living with an elephant, one that won’t go away or be ignored. Together, she and Jim have found ways to live with this “elephant” and to share some of the larger lessons about life they’ve learned through the disease.
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We are (slowly) working on updating old posts to the new format and removing old tour/blitz posts that are now missing key assets – please be patient with us, there are a lot of posts to go through, we’ve been doing this since 2016! Any tour/blitz posts that contained a review and are now missing key assets will be updated to review posts so the reviews remain accessible
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Mental Health Resources for those in the USA – In light of the recent election, we want to put out a message that LGBTQIA+ and minorities are always welcome here. We may post promos in conjunction with tour companies that spout worldviews we don’t always agree with, but we do our best to avoid any openly phobic posts, and should you notice any, we’d appreciate you contacting us with this form to let us know.
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